Mounting of wire-like or wired components particularly for automatic production



Aprll 12, 1960 A. R. RANGABE 2,932,379

MOUNTING 0F WIRE-LIKE OR WIRED COMPONENTS PARTICULARLY FOR AUTOMATIC PRODUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 14, 1957 Apnl 12, 1960 A. R. RANGABE 2,932,379

MOUNTING OF WIRE-LIKE OR WIRED COMPONENTS PARTICULARLY FOR AUTOMATIC PRODUCTION Flled June 14 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 12, 1960 R. RANGABE 7 MOUNTING 0F WIRE-LIKE OR WIRED COMPONENTS PARTICULARLY FOR AUTOMATIC PRODUCTION v Filed June 14, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 MOUNTING F WIRE-LIKE 0R wmnn coMro- I 1 1 ARTICULARLY FOR AUTOMATIC PRO- Alexander Rizo Rangabe, Denmead, England, assignor to The Plessey Company Limited, Ilford, England, a British company 1 j Application June ,14, 1957, Serial No, 665,865 4 Claims. 01, 198-153 This invention has for an object to provide improved means by which cylinder-shaped or wire-shaped or wired tape-like carriers.

{I According'to one aspect the invention provides a com-- posite carrier strip which comprises two flexible tapes extendingface to face and secured to each other at longitiidinally spaced positions, so as to form, between. consecutive points of attachment, collapsible pockets into which the components, or the wires or the like, can be inserted. These pockets will open for accepting or releasingfthe inserted parts when the strip is longitudinally compressed so that adjacent lines of attachment of the tapes are moved towards each other, while the-pockets are closed to clasp the components or wires when a longitudinal pull is exerted upon the tapes. Thus when the coniposite carrier strip is arranged to travel "man on-edge position, the components, or the wire endsof the components, can be allowed to drop into the pocket at a position in which the carrier is pushed together axially so that the pockets are open. Whereafter a longi'- carrier may, if only wire ends of small diameter engage the pockets, pass between the rollers of each of a plurality of suitably spaced pairs of feed-control rollers, a pair of, say, positively driven rollers being followed, at a:.short distance in the direction of tape movement, by a pair of non-driven rollers which are fn'ctionally braked to open the pockets between the said two pairs of rollers, while a positively driven pair of rollers at a point beyond the braked rollers ensures closing of the pockets as soon as they pass the braked roller pair. The strips may consist of paper, textile, plastic, or other pliable material.

Where the components themselves, or parts of appreciable diameter, are to be accommodated in the pockets, the opening and closing of the pockets is preferably effected by pairs of gripping jaws, which grip the strip between adjacent pockets, one pair at either side of each loading or unloading position, the two' pairs being then moved towards each other to open the pockets after they have gripped the strip, while after releasing the strip the jaws are withdrawn sufiiciently to allow the passage of the loaded pocket from the loading position or the entry of the next loaded pocket into the unloading position.

The components may be stored when held by the pockets of the composite carrier strip or strips. The strip or strips with the components may for this purpose be wound on reels or folded in zig-zag fashion, and may in this state be inserted into a magazine, from which they can be withdrawn and fed to supply the component to a point or points in an automatic production line.

components can be readily and expeditiously attachedto United States Patent-O i e 2,932,379 I Paiiented Apr. 12, 1960 Two carrier strips a and b each consist of two tapes a1 and a2 orbl and b2, of pliable material which are tween pairsof feed-control rollers c, d, e, f, by which it is moved in the direction of the arrows x. .For sim-- plicitys sake the strips have been assumed to move along joined along spaced lengths a3 or (23, while between these lengths the two tapes are separable so as to form pockets therebetween. Each of the strips a and b is passed beolosed paths, but it will be readily appreciated that alternatively the path may be broken at suitable cause the strips to be fed from, or into, magazines.

Wire-ended components g are supplied periodically through a chute k and are to be discharged periodically to apart 1' of an automatic assembly plant. The rollers c and e are positively driven, continuously or periodically,

through gears 01 or e1, while rollers d and f are braked by drum brakes d1 and )1. As a result rollers d and f will lag behindrollers c and (2 respectively, so that the pockets 7 will open under chute h to receive' a' wired; On: I the other hand 'the strip is tau-t between rollers d ande, l thus holding elementsgby the end wires k thereof. F

- Figures 2to 6 illustrate an embodiment of the inven element gand above part i to release such element.

tion, in which cylindrical components I, for example wireended resistor elements, are loaded in the pockets j of the strip a in'such manner that the strip will grasp the body of the element itself, and not only the wire endsthereof. this case the strip, upon which a feeding pull-iswexented-in the direction of the arrow Y, is, in

order to effect the loading, grasped by the first pair of" 1 jaws-m 'at'the zoneaS between the last previously loaded pocket j and the pocket j2 into which the element l is to be introduced; A'second pair of jaws n is arranged J to grip the nextattachment-zone, namely that between thepocket i2 and thenext following pocket 3, which -is,to*be loaded after the 'loadingof pocket jZ has been completed The arrangement is such, that the jaws n,. aftergripping'the strip, are moved 'jointly towards the" jaws m, soas. to shorten th'e distance"longitudinally of the strip which is occupied by the pocket 2, therebyopening this pocket as shown in Figure 2. When this state has been reached, the element 1 is introduced axially into the pocket, which at that time surrounds it with clearance as shown in Figure 4. When now the jaws m open, in the next step of the operation, the feeding pull Y is applied to the pocket '2. When, due to pull Y, the part of the tape containing the pocket i2 is taut, the element 1 is now firmly held by the friction of the tape as shown in Figure 5. Jaws n now return to their initial position, and jaws m open far enough to .allow the loaded pocket to pass between them, whereafter the strip is arranged to move forward by one step by means of suitable indexing mechanism indicated at o in Figure. 6;

the tensioning means for applying the pull Y are indipoints to pocket i5, which has not yet reached the unloadingposition. The second set of jaws r similarly grasps the zone between the pocket i4 and the pocket '6 which has previously been unloaded, whereafter-the jaws r are arranged to move a' short distance towards the; jaws q, thereby releasing the tension'in the section of the strip containing the pocket '4. Thispocket therefore will openby changing its shape from that shown in Figure 5 to that shown in Figure 4, whereupon the element 1 is free to drop out of the pocket as shownin Figure 3. The jaws are then open, and a further indexing mechanism s, which serves to move the next pocket into the unloading position, retightens the strip, whereafter the jaws q likewise release the strip and open sufficiently for the next loaded pocket '5 to enter the unloading position.

Figure 6 shows in diagrammatic form the arrangement of a machine incorporating the elements which'are represented to a larger scale in Figures 2 and3. The various jaws are in this embodiment assumed to, be operated by hydraulic cylinders, while a further hydraulic cylinder t or u respectively serves for effecting the longitudinal movement of the jaws n and r in the direction of the feed of the carrier strip. v and w are supply and take-up spools for the strip although obviously, similarly as in Figure l, a closed-loop circuit of the strip may be employed if preferred.

The invention may be carried out different in some details from the embodiments hereinabove: described. Thus, while it has been assumed that the movement of the strip takes place in step-by-step fashion,the-loading and unloading being effected while the strip is stationary, a continuous motion of the strip may alternatively be employed; in this case reciprocatory carriages, in which the mechanism actuating the jaws m andn or q and, r is carried, may move with the strip during the loading or unloading stage of each pocketand then return to engage" the next pocket.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding wire-ended components from i. a point of supply to a point of discharge, comprisingv a carrier strip formed of two tapes of fiexible'material secured' to each other along spaced: parallel .tran'sverse' zones of attachment to form spaced open-ended pockets each adapted to accommodate and slightly larger than thefcircurnference of a component, means for feeding said carrier strip with its transversedirection substantially vertical along a path including a feeding point and a discharge pointymeans for'maintaining said strip under longitudinal tension at least between saidfeeding point and, said discharge point means at. each said feeding point and said discharge point for gripping said strip'at the two zones of attachment provided respectively at each side of a pocket and for shortening the distance between the zones thus gripped to open the pocket between said gripped zones to permit at the supply point. the insertion of a component from above and at the point of discharge the release of a component to drop below before releasing the strip for further movement.

2. An apparatus for use in the manufacture of electrical apparatus, comprising a flexible carrier strip formed of two parallel tapes .of flexible material joined together along spaced parallel zones transverse to the longitudinal direction of the strip to form collapsible pockets between thetwo tapes of material, each pocket adapted to accommodate a wire-ended component respectively arranged in the individual pockets, said pockets being slightly larger than the circumference of said components so that said components are frictionally held in the-pockets by the material of the tapes as long as a longitudinal pull is exerted upon the carrier strip, the wire ends of the components projecting through the open ends of the pockets.

3.: Anmethdd of feeding wire-ended electrical. components to a discharge point by means of a flexible belt having open-ended transverse tension-collapsible pockets, which comprises loading such pockets each with a com ponent having a circumference smaller than the size of the pocket, feeding said flexible belt thus loaded with components in a taut condition and with the transverse direction of thestrip arranged substantially vertically,

along a substantially horizontal path above said discharge pointfand releasing each component from its pocket, as

itreaches said discharge point, by shortening the length of a section of the belt includingv the pocket containingv the component to be released but not including any loaded: pocket on its way to said discharge point.

4; In apparatus for the manufacture of electrical-apparatus including at least one wire-ended component,

meansfor releasing at a point of discharge from a moving pocketed carrier strip components loaded infpockets I thereof, said releasing means comprising in combination.

means for guiding such strip past the point of discharge, with the transverse directionv of the strip substantially vertical, two sets of gripping jaws for respectively gripping said strip at points spaced longitudinally of the' strip at opposite sides of the discharge point, and means for closing said sets of jaws to grip the strip at opposite sides of a loaded pocket, and for relatively moving said closed set of jaws to shorten their longitudinal spacing and thus release a component, and for then re-opening said sets of jaws References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Henning Feb. 18, 1958 

